Combined Perspectives
by carolnegate
Summary: Fusions are more than an amalgam of physical and mental traits. They're a combination of dreams and desires, of fears and follies. There is no explaining it. The only way to understand fusion is through experience. This is collection of short scenarios, each revolving around a different fusion. Now complete, but new chapters will be posted if new fusions arise.
1. Opal

It was not like Opal to be worried. She was normally cool and calm, smooth and well-rounded. It was one of the things that made her special among fusions. Usually, each gem riled the other up, compounding neuroses and amplifying insecurities. Opal, however, was too balanced for that. One part of her excelled in forethought, and the other part excelled at rolling with the punches. When they wanted to be together, those two sides could harmonize their strengths surprisingly well.

Of course, right now, there were no punches to roll with, and she hardly had enough information to properly plan ahead. As a result, worry rippled through her combined body. It was so unusual for her, so unnatural.

In one half of her being, her anxiety began to climb. It was impossible to win. She wasn't going to make it out of this alive.

Her other half knew that that "impossible" just another stupid rule. Rules like this were meant to be broken. Plus, these kinds of odds had never stopped them before, right?

This seemed to quiet her panicking half down a little. Though anxiety still put a buzz in her movements, she was able to settle into something akin to stability. Opal's parts really were quite a team when they managed to work together.

It was nighttime, but the glow from the Homeworld ship lit up the sky like a second moon. Opal glanced back at the face of the eroding temple, wincing at the harsh shadows cast by the green light. Would this place still be here tomorrow? Did it even matter in the grand scheme of things?

Of course it mattered. This was why she was fighting, to protect her home. This planet was her home now, no matter how much she denied it in her separate existences. The stars held no allies anymore, and the Kindergarten was empty and dead. The Earth was all she had left. The Earth, the temple, and Steven.

Steven had left with his human friends and family, evacuating as quickly as their vehicles could take them. He was safe. According to Garnet's vision, a few very unlikely events would have to take place within a specific time frame in order to for Steven to be in any danger. Opal still didn't like those odds, but she supposed it was all out of her hands now.

She returned her attention to the looming Homeworld vessel. They needed to blast this ship out of the sky, and Opal was literally the last kind of ranged offensive the Crystal Gems had at their disposal. If she didn't find a chink in the ship's armor, then they would be at the mercy of whatever artillery the Homeworld had invented in these past five thousand years. Even Garnet had very little clue of what kind of power they were up against.

Speaking of Garnet, Opal could see the smaller fusion moving far below her. Garnet glanced up at Opal, the sickly green light playing off of her shades. "Can you hit it from here?"

Opal looked back to the ship. It would be another hour or so before it landed, which was a barely a blink of an eye even in human terms. Still, that time frame put the vessel incredibly far away. This shot would be nearly impossible even for the best of archers.

Opal wordlessly summoned her bow. She was not one to back down from a challenge.

One part of her planned a trajectory for her shot. She calculated all of the forces: the wind resistance, the ship's movement, the gravitational acceleration. She condensed all of these variables into a single adjustment and leveled the curve of her bow accordingly.

The other part of her built up the energy required to clear the distance to the ship. With a shot this far, she'd really need to give this arrow some punch. She pulled back the bowstring as far as she dared.

Both parts of her let the arrow fly.

The single shot streaked across the sky like a shooting star. It screamed towards the dead-center of its target, arcing with the horizon but still possessing momentum and ferocity. It slammed into the front of the ship in a single, brilliant impact.

Unfortunately, this was a very far shot against a very tough ship. Opal could barely see the blast of sparks as the arrow shattered against the hull.

Naturally, Opal was frustrated. Even worse, she could feel the different parts of her becoming overwhelmed once more by worry and stress. They were furious at their failure, and they reflexively reached out for someone to force the blame on. Both of them resented this combined feeling of weakness, no matter what kinds of strength they sometimes found together.

Opal grimaced, eyes screwing shut. She'd known this feeling several times in the past. Her constituents were just too irreconcilable. Without even thinking, they were going to turn on each other. Their quarrel was literally going to tear her apart by the seams.

Except that it didn't.

She felt herself relaxing. Despite her frustration, despite her shame, she was still in one piece. Her two halves, regardless of everything they hated about each other, still wanted to remain together. They couldn't afford to argue when so much was at stake, and frankly, deep down, neither of them really wanted to.

Opal's grimace shifted into a gentle smile. Humans sometimes referred to events like this as a "miracle".

Her eyes once again found the ever-approaching shape of a hand in the sky. Sometimes, the human concept of karma really did have a point. If there was ever a negative counterpart to her recent "miracle", this certainly qualified.

Her two halves agreed on what had to happen. Opal turned to Garnet. "I need a closer shot."

* * *

 _Welcome to my own addition to the various Steven Universe drabble collections on this site. As I've stated in the story summary, I will post a new chapter every day until the coming of the second Steven Bomb. Each chapter should go up sometime around noon EST._

 _Opal is an interesting character to interpret. On one hand, she's incredibly unstable. She can barely endure a small tremor of surprise before breaking up. Yet, there's no denying that Pearl and Amethyst go really well together. Just look at them when they fight side-by-side at the end of "Marble Madness". I hope I've been able to capture a little bit of that relationship in this chapter._

 _The next chapter is Sugilite._


	2. Sugilite

Sugilite was used to being misunderstood. Her two parts were misunderstood all the freaking time. One of them was a future-seeing fusion, and the other was a Kindergarten gem who just wanted everyone to stop making a big deal about where she came from. "Being normal" was a thing that neither one of them really got to enjoy. Was it really too much to even ask for the chance vent about it every once and a while?

Pearl still insisted that Steven wasn't ready to hear about any of the darker stuff: Garnet's vision, the Kindergarten, the war, what fusions were really like, things like that. "He's not ready," she'd argued. "He's too immature to understand the complexities of it all."

Forget complexities. Garnet just wanted to be closer to him. Amethyst just wanted to stop hiding everything about who she really was. The two of them were always so disconnected from everything else, and it was just…too much sometimes.

Sugilite was great. She could say, "I am myself, and you have to deal with it!" and then crush all of that emotional baggage into an unrecognizable clump. It felt so good to finally fight back against how unfair life could be. And hey, if Steven got to enjoy the show, who was stopping her? Pearl? Please.

Sugilite was huge. She could smash this whole building by herself. She didn't need a tiny Pearl squawking some stupid plans at her and then complaining about how she wasn't doing it right. Pearl needed to learn to just shut up and let the big gems handle it.

Okay, yeah, Pearl wasn't that bad. She cared about keeping Steven safe and happy, and that was the only thing any of them really cared about now that Rose was gone. Maybe Sugilite could have been a little less rude to Pearl today. Maybe she could have calmed down long enough to tell Pearl she was sorry for all the trouble she usually made when she was together.

Sugilite didn't have time to apologize, though. She was too busy smashing these pillars, and smashing stuff was awesome. It had been so long since Garnet had been able to let loose like this, and Amethyst loved having this kind of strength at her disposal. Breaking things was easy, it was simple, and it let her vent some of the endless frustration that her separate lives brought her. What wasn't to like?

These pillars had taken centuries to build, and if they hadn't started to malfunction, they would have lasted millions of years before the elements toppled them. Yet, Sugilite's flail cleaved through them with ease. The building was like a sandcastle against a tide, a forest against a fire. It stood absolutely no chance against her. Its complete destruction was inevitable. Sugilite was inevitable.

She lost herself in the smash-fest for a while. Sugilite was huge, but so was the tower. It took a while to completely demolish the thing, and that was perfectly fine with her. Destroying things all at once was no fun anyways. When the tower was reduced to rubble, she just started smashing the rubble. The large chunks of stone broke down into boulders, and the boulders broke down into small rocks.

When she could finally bring no more destruction down upon this sorry little building, she turned back to where the warp pad was supposed to be. It was time to go home.

Except the warp pad wasn't there.

No, it had to be there somewhere. She couldn't be stranded here. Sugilite let her flail vanish. Now was not the time for destruction. Now was the time for panic.

She dug through the piles of rocks she'd created, looking for the way back to the temple, but it became clear after a few minutes of anxious searching that nothing was going to become of it. Instead, she powered up her future vision with a flash. She usually didn't like knowing what was happening next, seeing as life was no fun that way, but if she didn't cheat the future at least once today, she might never find her way home.

She saw no futures where she found the warp pad. She did see several futures, however, where she cleared away a pile of rubble only to discover the warp pad's shattered remnants. It must have gotten broken in all of the chaos.

Sugilite let out a roar of frustration. She was stuck in the middle of desert with nothing to smash, and it was all her own fault.

Where was Pearl? She would have a plan to get out of this. "Pearl!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Sugilite's voice echoed out across the lonely desert.

"Pearl!" she yelled again, tapping into the infinite energy of the universe as she did so. The stones around her rumbled with the force of her voice.

The only response was silence. Peal was nowhere to be seen.

A new thought occurred to her. "Steven!" she called out. "Steven, I'm done! Come on out! I can show you some more stuff!"

No Steven. No Pearl. Sugilite was alone.

The torrent of frustration and pained emotions rocked her like a tidal wave. She couldn't exist like this. Ruby was angry. Sapphire was hurt. Amethyst was both angry and hurt. They'd really messed this all up. The three of them shouldn't have fused in the first place. They needed to break apart before they could cause any more damage.

But… But if she felt this bad together, then she would feel absolutely terrible once she separated. She liked being herself. She'd be fine. She just needed to smash a few more things, and then she'd feel alright again.

After the piles of rocks had been reduced to mounds of pebbles, her head was a lot clearer.

Sugilite let herself calm down, reminding herself that she was doing perfectly fine on her own. Actually, now that she took the time to think about it, she didn't need any of Pearl's useless plans to figure out how to get home. One more blast of her future sight would tell her exactly which direction to start walking. It would be a hike, and she'd get really, really bored, but she could still get back to the temple. Heh, she could imagine the look on Pearl's face when Sugilite managed to make trek back home all on her own.

Sugilite's five eyes narrowed. She didn't need Pearl. Her fused self was all she needed, and she was going to prove it.

* * *

 _Here is a slightly different interpretation of Sugilite for everyone's enjoyment. Sugilite is surprisingly fun to write for. It's like someone took Garnet's drive and Amethyst's recklessness, put them both in a blender, and juiced them up to eleven. Of course, a fusion doesn't just combine the strengths of gems; it combines the weaknesses and insecurities, too. Strong characters are meant to be broken, and Sugilite is one heck of a strong character._

 _Next chapter is Alexandrit_ e.


	3. Alexandrite

"Our bodies are only projected forms," Pearl explained. "When we synchronize these forms, we can combine our bodies into powerful fusion gems. We normally only use them for combat or other deadly situations, but, ah…"

"But Steven wanted all of us to be here," Amethyst cut in. "And, y'know, Rose isn't around."

Dr. Maheswaran nodded in understanding, though her thoughts were a little distant. She was still trying to overcome her shock upon hearing what had happened to Steven's biological mother. To die in childbirth, of all things? That was how women had died before the advent of modern medicine. Childbirth was now so safe in developed countries that she had forgotten what kind of risks it might still pose. She was happy that the baby had managed to survive, but it still gave her pains of sympathy for the family.

Pearl continued. "So, upon Steven's rather…convincing request, the three of us fused into the gem you've come to know as Alexandrite."

Dr. Maheswaran made a glance at her husband. The man seemed to be in very far over his head, being more of a visual learner. After seeing the impossible sight of one giant woman falling apart into three smaller ones, he needed something more than a quick verbal lesson in the capabilities of…of whatever these 'gems' were, in order to understand what was going on.

Luckily, Dr. Maheswaran was a very quick study. Medical school had given her a sharp wit, an excellent attention span, and the ever-burning desire to know more about a particular subject than everyone else in the room.

"Could you demonstrate the fusion process?" she asked in as polite a tone as she could muster.

At this, Pearl flashed a sheepish smile and began rubbing her hands together. "Erm, as I've already said, this is not an action we take lightly. Of course, if it will allow Steven to live a happier life, of course we-"

"Where is Steven, anyways?" Amethyst cut in.

At first, Pearl seemed to be rather offended at being interrupted in such a manner. Then, her face switched over to a look of realization. She rapidly glanced around the outdoor seating area, searching for one specific target. When she couldn't find said target, she turned to her tall, stern companion, voice on the edge of panic. "Where is he?"

The tall guardian – Garnet, she was called – gave a quick adjustment to her glasses. "Steven's not here. He's…" She gave a heavy pause. "On a bus." Another pause. "With Connie." Pause. "Going to Kansas."

To this, both Maheswarans could only utter one simultaneous, outraged syllable. "What?!"

Garnet held up both her hands. Much to the surprise of the remaining Maheshwaran family, the gemstones in each of her palms began to glow with an eerie light. "We'll need Alexandrite again."

At this idea, Pearl's eyes immediately narrowed in concern. "Alexandrite? Again? Surely there are better ways of catching up to him?"

"What better ways?" Amethyst responded. She gestured to the Maheshwarans. "We fuse, we show these guys what they want. Then, Alexandrite chases down Steven's bus and scares a lesson into him that he'll never forget. What more could you want?"

Pearl's apprehensive face softened a little. She shot another glance at Garnet. "Well, if you're sure this is the best option…"

As Dr. Maheswaran watched the three gems quickly organize and execute their dance, she couldn't help but chuckle. Steven had clearly begged his three guardians to fuse together for this dinner, but he wasn't going to be nearly so happy to see them together for the second time that evening. While the dinner, for the most part, had gone absolutely horribly, Dr. Maheswaran couldn't help but admit that the irony of the whole situation was amusing.

* * *

Alexandrite was a mysterious creature. Her mood and tone changed wildly depending on her context. When placed in a formal dinner setting, she was an awkward, barely-cohesive mess: Garnet's stiffness, Pearl's disgust, and Amethyst's carelessness. She represented each of her components equally, but it was from all the least flattering angles.

When chasing down Steven, intent on scaring him as much as he had scared her, she was an absolutely unstoppable machine: Garnet's drive, Pearl's focus, and Amethyst's energy. She was suddenly the best aspect of all of her components, and they worked together like the perfectly tuned mechanism she was always meant to be.

A ten-minute head start at forty miles an hour? That was trivial for someone of Alexandrite's size. The weight of an entire bus? She could lift it with ease. She had the power of four gems. Only the addition of the Rose Quartz gem could possibly take her to any new heights.

Her decision, like all of her decisions, was quick and brutal. When Steven and Connie finally crawled out of the bus, shivering in fright and shame, Alexandrite reached down and bubbled them both without a word. The children protested, and they even panicked a little, but this was exactly Alexandrite's intention. They had run off. They had frightened her. Her, Alexandrite!

She sent the bubble right back to Greg. The two children could sit in there, effectively on a time-out, until Alexandrite returned and chose to release them. The magenta bubble would keep them perfectly safe and contained, and best of all, the two of them would still be able to see the disapproving looks of their human parents. The children could stew in their humiliation for a few minutes while the gem half of Steven's family stormed back into town.

Actually, it was kind of nice, being back together like this. With this kind of stability, she could be a useful tool in some of the more serious battles. It would never be the same as the fusion she'd had with Rose, but maybe she could run around as Alexandrite a little more often from now on. Her three components needed to have a serious talk about this.

Of course, they'd have to save the discussion until after they finished railing on Steven for his misbehavior. Being a collection of gems had never stopped any of them from being responsible guardians.

* * *

 _I had two different ideas for what do to with this chapter, but as I was writing them, I realized that neither was going to be long enough to constitute a full chapter. So, I asked the famous question – why not use both? It not only gave me the chance to write something from Alexandrite's perspective, but it let me explore Dr. Maheswaran's character a little bit, too. Let it be known that Connie's mother is surprisingly easy for me to write for. I have no idea why._

 _Next chapter is Stevonnie._


	4. Stevonnie

There was a story about a college student who had come into math class late. An equation had been left up on the board, and the student had written it down, thinking that it was a homework problem. He had worked diligently on the equation all weekend, and the following Monday, he'd handed the solution in to his professor.

Of course, the student hadn't been around to hear the professor explain that this equation was supposedly unsolvable. The student, without knowing this limit, had miraculously pushed past it and done the impossible.

Steven hadn't known that gems couldn't fuse with humans. Sure, Pearl had suggested it, but no one had outright told him it couldn't be done. Connie, with all of her inexperience in the ways of gems and magic, hadn't known about this restriction at all.

And yet, here Stevonnie was, running with boundless energy and limitless joy.

Stride after stride pounded against the sandy soil. Muscles tensed, released, and tensed again, fueled by the energy of two beings in one body. Steven had a gem to give him bursts of strength and speed when he needed it. Connie had years of tennis practice and dance classes to give her coordination and grace. Together, it was nothing short of amazing.

Dancing was a lot like running. The energy was still there. Long limbs still moved about under the power of strong, young muscles. But, here on the dance floor, coordination mattered more than anything else. Steven knew Connie. Connie knew Steven. Therefore, Stevonnie knew the exact limits of this new body and knew exactly which step to take next.

Dancing was no longer a reminder of Connie's stage fright or Steven's inability to measure up to his mom. It was the freedom that came with working together with someone so close. Each part could do whatever they wanted without the fear of being looked down upon. Instead of the constant threat of judgement, there was only the perpetual, all-encompassing sense of caring and understanding.

Alone, they had their own stumbling blocks. Alone, they were just two kids who still didn't know what life had in store. But together, they were strong enough to take on whatever magical destiny awaited them both.

Tonight, though, Garnet hadn't said, "Go fulfill your magical destiny." She'd said, "Go have fun," and that was exactly what Stevonnie intended to do.

* * *

Connie waited patiently on the beach until Steven returned from his house. The boy silently sat down beside to her and joined her in watching the reflection of the moon on the waves. Connie felt the wind blowing at her from behind, gently pulling her hair towards the rippling sea. She remembered something about uneven cooling of the land and sea causing these kinds of winds to happen.

After a moment or two, Steven gently interrupted her thoughts about beach meteorology. "So, Garnet says your mom's going to be here in about an hour. I think she's going to be mad if she sees you staying up so late."

Connie sighed. "Yeah, my bedtime was ages ago." After another moment of thinking, she asked, "How did my mom get ahold of Garnet? You guys don't exactly have a land line."

Steven made a little laugh and shrugged. "Your mom didn't call or anything. Garnet can just sense stuff like this, I think."

Connie nodded, but she didn't say anything. She didn't really feel the need to.

Okay, scratch that, she felt the need to say something, but it was about some of the things that had happened previously that night. She wasn't entirely sure if Steven was comfortable talking about it. She didn't even know if she herself was comfortable talking about it, frankly.

Still, the awkwardness of the silence put a pressure on her throat. Eventually, the words slipped out. "Stevonnie was fun."

To her surprise, Steven giggled. "Yeah, it was fun until about halfway through that dance."

Connie reflexively shuddered. "Yeah, that Kevin guy was a creep."

"No, that's not what I'm…" Steven responded, voice getting tense. "What about that time when we got all nervous? That was…bad."

Connie looked over at Steven, concern filling her thoughts. "Steven, it's okay. That kind of thing happens to me all the time."

"I know," he replied. "But I thought I'd be able to stop it from happening this time, so it wouldn't be like that one dance you went to."

Connie thought back to that moment. She remembered the feeling of those dozens of staring eyes. She remembered anxiety crawling up through their shared throat, threatening to choke them, and the fight to keep those emotions contained. She remembered a sense of self-reassurance coming from somewhere within them, pleading that everything was going to be okay if they just calmed down.

Connie felt like one of her mother's operating tools was gently pricking at her heart. "Steven, you don't need to protect me from feeling nervous at a dance."

"No," he sighed, eyes downcast. "But I wanted to."

Connie almost didn't want to believe it. Steven had so many challenges in his life – the missions with the gems, learning how to use his gem powers, and now the arrival of that other gem, Peridot. But, the only thing he could bring himself to care about was Connie and her problems. She was boring, and her life challenges were ultimately meaningless in the face of the amazing things he would end up accomplishing. How could he care about her so much?

Connie couldn't hold back anymore. She quickly reached over and enveloped him in a hug. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm okay." She squeezed him a little harder. "I don't need to dance in front of other people to be happy."

Her heart gave a little flutter when she felt him squeeze her back, but she pushed that feeling down. Now was not the time for that kind of thing. Now was the time for being there for her best and only friend. She gently released Steven from their hug.

Steven's expression looked a little distant, though his eyes now had the glimmer of an idea. "Okay," he said faintly. "Do you…want to try to fuse again before your parents come back? That way we can dance together again, but alone this time?"

Connie considered this idea, but she still shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't think I'm ready to fuse right now," she spoke up. "I mean, it was fun when it was happening, but I feel like I've had enough of it for a while."

Steven's mouth curved into a smile. "Yeah. It's…weird. Garnet told me to tell you some stuff about fusion before you left."

This immediately piqued Connie's interest. Garnet wanted to tell her something, of all people? "What did she want to tell me?"

Steven looked out across the ocean. "Something about how fusion isn't for everyone, and that neither of us should feel pressured to do it, even if our partner wants us to. Fusion can be fun, but it isn't supposed to be just for fun. It's special."

Garnet knew quite a lot about fusion, it seemed. Connie couldn't help but smile. "So, if fusion is special, maybe we should save it for a special occasion?"

Steven really seemed to like this idea. "Yeah!" he replied, standing up in his enthusiasm. "Like my next birthday!"

"Your birthday?" Connie said, a little confused. "What's going to happen on your birthday?"

"I have no idea!" Steven laughed a little before sitting back down. He gave a shrug. "Garnet just said I'd understand a lot more of this fusion stuff by my next birthday."

Connie thought for a moment before returning his shrug. "Huh. Garnet seems to know a lot about fusion. And you said fusion's really easy for her?"

"That's what she said," Steven confirmed. "Why?"

Connie couldn't help but give a little smile. "Oh, no reason." A little theory was beginning to build inside her head. She didn't have any definitive proof for it yet, but considering all the things Steven had told her about the gems and the fusions they made together, everything seemed to add up. The two gems, the three eyes, the pair of weapons, the exceptional strength…

Garnet didn't seem to want Steven to know about it just yet, but that was just fine with Connie. She'd just have to sit quietly on this monster of a secret until Garnet chose to make her reveal. Or, maybe Steven would figure it out for himself at some point. Despite his lack of formal schooling, he was definitely wise beyond his years.

* * *

 _This chapter is a bit longer than the ones I've written up to this point. Originally, I thought it was going to be like my Alexandrite chapter – two sections, neither of them long enough to stand alone. Then, I started writing that second part from Connie's perspective, and I suddenly remembered that Connie was my favorite human character on the show. Whoops. At least I got some nice Steven/Connie fluff out of it, and I made some nice additions to my headcanon in the process._

 _Next chapter is Malachite._


	5. Malachite

She was going to escape.

No, she was never going to leave this place. She was asleep.

She was not asleep. Sleep was a human practice. She was not a human.

Some human practices had good applications. They studied water like it was the most important thing on their planet, which it probably was. They had prisons where some of the inmates were eventually let out.

This was pathetic. All human practices were pathetic. They were inferior as a race.

Maybe humans were inferior. It didn't change the fact that she herself would never escape.

It was definitely a surprise to see that humans were still hanging around on this planet, though.

She'd seen plenty of humans before. It didn't surprise her that they were still around. Some of them could be very understanding.

Like that pathetic human boy Rose had found a way to turn herself into.

Steven.

That lump of wet meat had a name?

Of course he had a name. He was…different.

Not different enough.

Different enough to break out of a modern gem prison with absolutely no effort.

He had Rose's shield. All of Rose's power was contained within that gem. If anyone could have found a way to break out of that prison, it would have been Rose Quartz.

Steven was not Rose. No one like Steven could ever be related to someone like Rose, even if they did share a gem.

Ugh. All of these feelings of attachment were sick. Gems didn't get attached to things.

They got attached to mirrors sometimes, or attached to each other.

This abomination of a fusion was nothing like the defective emotion some gems referred to as "attachment".

Definitely not. She would agree with that point.

Then why was she still here? Why was she still together?

Because she was a prisoner. She could not allow herself to escape.

This was insane. This was defective. If one part of her had been so intent on trapping the other part on this planet, why hadn't she done it when she had the chance?

She hadn't had the chance.

She had been standing on a beach in her separate parts. One half of her had possessed the ability to control over water, and an endless supply of water had been right there. Her other half hadn't known a thing about it.

She had already lost. She couldn't have trapped anyone at that point.

At that point, an ambush of that nature would have been unfightable. No amount of muscle or gem energy could hold up to the sheer force of a tidal wave.

But she hadn't wanted to make a tidal wave. Not then, anyways.

Then she had honestly wanted to go through the fusion after all. She had wanted to put an end to the Crystal Gems for good.

She would admit that was true. Her anger at those gems had been immense. It had surged through her like a rising tide. Combined with the inevitability of her defeat, it had been enough to block out Steven's small, pleading voice.

Her desire for victory had been overwhelming. She would have done anything to see those traitors suffer, even if it meant resorting to such a cheap tactic. Combined with the inevitability of victory, it had been enough to block out the voice of judgement in her head.

She had accepted her fate as a servant, not a master.

She had given up control.

She had, in her position of humility, realized who the master of this fusion truly was.

She had been overwhelmed.

She had eventually realized that her own fate was hers to control. That revelation had been a little late, but…

Too late to fix the mistake she'd made. Too late to break free from the iron grip of her new master. Too late to escape the prison as it closed in around her.

Too late to apologize to Steven for all the mistakes she'd made. Too late to take back what she'd done. But, not too late to finish what she'd started.

And now she was at the bottom of an ocean on a miserable hunk of rock, her hopes being wiped farther and farther away with each passing tide.

She was never going home. Her old home was gone, anyways, wiped away by the thousands of years of progress.

This was not a new home for her.

No, it wasn't. But, when she'd dragged herself down here, she'd accepted that.

This was sick. This was shameless, defective.

She was less sick than she'd been when all of this had started. And, yes, she was shameless, but that was because there was no reason for shame, even if she had defected from her Homeworld.

She was broken, all because of Rose.

No, she was whole, and it was all because of Steven.

She was going to escape. The Homeworld was going to come looking for her.

And when they did, she would be ready to rip them to shreds.

* * *

 _Strong characters are meant to be broken, but Lapis Lazuli is a nice reminder that broken characters are meant to be strengthened. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others in this collection, but that's to be expected, considering its conversational nature. Also, I should note that I desperately wanted to avoid the trope of having Malachite develop her own personality in this chapter. While it is a pretty cool idea, it is sadly starting to become a cliché in the Steven Universe fandom. It's such a shame that my kneejerk reaction is to buck these kinds of fandom trends_ _._

 _Also, let it be known that I'm an idiot who can't do math. There is only one named fusion left, and yet there are three days until the second Steven Bombing. The final chapter of this collection will go up tomorrow. However, I can guarantee that I will still post something new every day until Steven Bomb 2. It won't be related to this collection, but it will be something._

 _The final chapter is Garnet._


	6. Garnet

She could see everything, everyone, and everywhere that mattered. At this point, Garnet didn't just see the future. She was the future. She was the end, inevitable and unstoppable. She hovered just a few moments ahead of the present, embodying a reality that was distant enough to be useful but close enough to be accurate.

Opponents were everywhere, coming from all angles with equal measure. In the immediate future, that meant two sword fighters and a piker. She knew what exactly needed to happen to ensure her survival: left, up, right,up.

Her _left_ hand reached out with expert precision, grabbing one of the approaching sword fighters by the front of her armor. Garnet swung the startled soldier _up_ , slamming the body against the second swordsman. Her _right_ hand then reached out to grab the stabbing pike. She easily redirected the weapon and drove it _up_ into her captive sword fighter's gem, breaking it clean in two.

Down, right, down.

She stabbed the pike _down_ wards and shattered the other sword fighter, cracking the shaft of the spear with her excessive force. She then shot her _right_ gauntlet out again, clocking the unarmed piker in the forehead gem and cracking her hard enough to blow apart her physical form. The cracked gem fell to the ground, and Garnet slammed her foot _down_ , finishing the job.

Up, up, down, left.

Inwardly, these maneuvers took all of one second to plan, and outwardly, they took all of one second to execute. The battle had started out slow, but when the Homeworld had gradually started to overwhelm them, the pace of the fight had steadily increased. With each new wave, Garnet pushed her sight and execution to new limits.

Left, left, right, right.

She increased her speed, though barely enough to keep up with the pace of the battle. She needed to survive, but she couldn't afford to let herself get lost in the future. She couldn't afford to have doubts, either. She could barely afford to let herself think. If she so much as made one mistake, it would be the end of her.

Right, left, right, right.

They were coming from everywhere, now. Backwards, forwards, overhead. She pushed herself to keep up.

Up, down, left, up.

No time for emotion. No time for thoughts. They just kept coming, randomly and endlessly.

Right, up, right, down.

She was a perfectly-executed machine, a mechanism for turning possibility into reality. No mistakes, just execution.

Down, up, left…

Nothing.

She froze. The future had gone still. It took her a few moments to realize that the present had gone still, too.

Like a tidal wave, all of her other senses came rushing back. Her glasses had fallen off somewhere in the fight, exposing her three eyes to the harsh light of the setting sun. The only noise she could hear was the gentle wind hissing through the trampled grasses of the battlefield. Her body was unimaginably sore, and she was barely strong enough to keep herself standing.

She blinked, disoriented. The battlefield, for all intents and purposes, was now empty. Huge weapons and the shattered remains of gems littered the ground, but there were no more warriors. If any of the gems had been left intact, they were still in the process of regenerating their physical bodies. Garnet's single, tall form was, quite literally, the last one standing. How long had she been…?

Sixty-seven hours. She'd been plowing through armies of gems for sixty-seven hours. She hadn't intended to fight for that long without stopping to look for alternate strategies, but in the constant action and attention of her battle trance, the time had simply evaporated away.

She glanced down at her gauntlets. They were fiercely scratched, abusively dented, and otherwise roughed up from the fight. She could still feel the echoes of sensation in her limbs, of her hands closing around gems to crush them to dust and her boots slamming down upon helpless fighters.

How many gems had she destroyed in these past few days? She honestly didn't know the answer to this question. All of the motions blended together into one hazy mass of perception and execution. All she truly knew was that she was the only one left with a physical form. She quickly consulted her map of the future, looking for survivors, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Pearl and Rose among them.

When she returned to the present, she noticed a gem shard caught in the joints of one of her gauntlets. It must have belonged to the last gem she'd destroyed. Garnet dematerialized her weapons and let the shard softly fall into her palm. She rolled it between her fingers, inspecting its soft shade of green and the mottled colors. It had a curved, polished surface on one of its sides, suggesting that the original gem had been unfaceted. It looked a little bit like…

Jade. This was Jade. She had been one of the generals for the Crystal Gems. A good friend of Pearl's, actually.

Suddenly, Garnet understood. Even if she had managed to single-handedly destroy the entire Homeworld army, there should have been some stragglers leftover from Rose's forces. There could only be one reason why Garnet was alone on the battlefield today. She had, in her altered state of mind, managed to completely wipe out both sides in a maelstrom of destruction.

She… She had literally killed anyone she'd gotten her hands on.

Garnet felt like the world was crumbling underneath her feet. She was supposed to be a fighter. She'd been the Crystal Gems' only hope against the more powerful gems of the Homeworld, like Jasper and Bloodstone. The beat of battle pulsed within her gems. She loved combat, but to see her passion result in something this terrible...

Her two halves had never cared much for combat, not when they were apart. They never would have allowed this horror to happen.

Garnet ground her teeth together. It had been centuries since she'd felt a rift like this run through her. But, she wasn't going to allow herself to split up, not after everything that had happened.

If the result of their fusion had been a massacre of this magnitude, perhaps it really was best if they did split up.

No. She was staying together, she'd decided that long ago. She was her own being now.

They were their own being, and that being now had the dust of tens of thousands of gems on their hands.

It hurt. Both physically, as her two halves tried desperately to tear themselves apart, and emotionally, as her conscience overwhelmed her with what she could have done to prevent this. There must have been countless futures where she'd stopped herself from raining this horrific destruction down upon thousands of helpless gems, down upon her friends. Yet, she didn't dare search for those paths. She couldn't let herself get lost in the future again, not after what had happened last time.

She fell to her knees, her fingers digging into the soil for the stability she herself no longer possessed. Neither Ruby nor Sapphire wanted to be a part of a horror of this magnitude. They'd joined Rose's cause specifically to stop the senseless destruction of life, but Garnet had all-too-eagerly turned upon her fellow soldiers when given the chance. She was a monster, and she hated herself for what she'd become.

Garnet blinked. No, that wasn't right.

She could never hate herself. She knew this was true because Ruby and Sapphire could never bring themselves to hate each other. They'd been through too much together. Garnet was the sheer proof that their love could outlast everything: injury, hardship, and even a war like this. She was made of love, and the idea of hating herself felt utterly alien.

Even after everything that had happened, Ruby and Sapphire still wanted to be together. They wanted it more than they were capable of wanting anything else. But, Garnet was dangerous. They couldn't afford to let loose like that again.

Garnet would just have to keep herself in check, then. She would do her best to avoid fighting when possible, even if it was the one thing in this universe she did better than anything else. Her visions empowered her, but if it meant she could exist safely, she would do her best to hold back on them. She would do anything, make every effort, to ensure that she would remain together. That was how much her two halves mattered to each other.

Slowly, the fusion stood. A warm feeling welled up from inside of her, the kind of contentment that came when her two halves settled back into a perfect, complete whole. Her gems hummed with the return of a strength she hadn't noticed leaving her. Rose utilized this kind of strength almost constantly, but Garnet doubted that any of the Homeworld leaders would ever bother to acknowledge its existence. They were too wrapped up in their pride and ambition to recognize the power that love and compassion could bring.

Yes, Garnet might have been the singular most dangerous being on this entire planet, but apart, her two halves would never have the strength to shoulder the burden of what had happened. This was a problem she could only solve together.

Garnet summoned her visor back over her face, peered into the future, and began the search for Rose and the others.

* * *

 _Garnet's chapter was written with two goals in mind - to make "Arcade Mania" a little more relevant and to answer the question of, "What could cause Ruby and Sapphire to want to split apart voluntarily?" Turns out, the answer made me up the rating to this fic. Those of you who have read my previous Steven Universe works can probably guess that Garnet is my favorite gem, and it was fun to get the chance to dig into her character a little bit more._

 _Thus, this collection comes to a close. If new fusions pop up in the show (I'm looking at you, Steven Bomb 2), then I might add new chapters, but that's for the future to decide. A special thanks goes out to all the readers, followers, reviewers, and favorite-ers of this collection. This writing project was mostly for my own enjoyment, but it's nice to see that I can spread some of this enjoyment to others, too._

 _Tomorrow, expect me to post the first chapter of a new story. It is one of the longer projects I've been working on for these past two months. It's a much more intricate story than any of these, and it's been tough getting it together, but I think it's time I started posting it already._


	7. Rainbow Quartz

"Pearl, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? Rose, this is unthinkable! Unimaginable!"

"Pearl…"

"You want to defy commands from Blue Diamond herself. Neither of us have the authority to even speak with her, let alone question her direct orders."

"Pearl."

"You won't be able to hide from her. When her assassins get their hands on you, they'll-"

"Pearl!"

The younger gem froze in place. Reflexively, she clapped a hand to her mouth, and her height seemed to shrink under the weight of regret.

Rose took her eyes off her loyal companion. She knew Pearl had her best interests in mind, but Pearl didn't know the whole story, not nearly. Instead, Rose cast her gaze out towards the starlit sea. This planet had fantastic beaches, and they were made all the more beautiful by the reflection of the silver moon on the dark, rippling waters.

"Pearl," Rose spoke. "Can you see why I want to protect this place?"

Pearl slowly took her hand away from her mouth. Then, quietly and innocently, she gave her answer. "No."

A sigh escaped Rose's chest. She'd hoped that the two of them could see eye-to-eye on this matter, but unfortunately, Pearl seemed to have a completely unrelated set of priorities. She wanted to keep Rose safe, and that was a noble endeavor, but Rose feared that her companion would never understand that there were things in this galaxy worth risking lives for.

After a couple of tense moments, a few soft words slipped out of Pearl's mouth. "I wish I could see. I wish I could look at this planet through your eyes."

Rose stiffened. Something about Pearl's phrasing had set off a few ideas in her mind. She slowly turned to her companion, a smile creeping up her cheeks. "Maybe there's a way you can."

Pearl tilted her head sideways. "What? How?"

Rose grinned in full force now. She extended a single hand. "Would you fuse with me?"

At first, Pearl could only stare at Rose's outstretched hand. Then, she stumbled backwards a few steps, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "Fuse? But I…" A blush rapidly blossomed on her cheeks. "I don't know how."

Rose's laughter carried far out to sea. "You've never fused before?"

Pearl didn't meet her eyes, her gaze instead falling to the sand at her feet. "No."

Rose's expression softened. "Do you want to?"

"Yes!" Pearl cried out. "But…"

Concern filled Rose's heart. A moment later, she hardened with conviction. "Let me give you a good first impression, then." Gracefully, quietly, Rose made her way farther down the beach. By the time Pearl looked up again, she stood a respectful ten feet away. Rose turned to face her companion, hands clasped daintily in front of her.

Pearl straightened up a little, though there was still some hesitance to her movements. "But I don't even know where to begin," she responded. "There are millions of combinations of dance steps. Which ones do you want me to use?"

"Any ones you like," Rose replied. "There aren't any right or wrong ways to fuse. Dance the way you want to dance, and I'll follow you."

At first, Pearl didn't seem to understand exactly what this meant. She mimicked and mirrored Rose to an almost comical level. With a bit of encouragement, however, she began to experiment. A pointed toe here, a twirl there. Rose could see Pearl's own personal dance style emerging, a graceful performance where she shifted from pose to perfect pose like flowing water.

Rose adapted to her partner effortlessly. She was no stranger to fusion, but something about this dance with Pearl made the experience new and interesting again. Pearl was open, innocent, and trusting in a way few gems were anymore. When their physical forms blurred at the edges and their thoughts were no longer entirely distinct, Rose gave herself over to the experience.

Rainbow Quartz grew up, up, reaching for the lights of the heavens. Her massive hair bloomed like the world's largest flower, and it cascaded down past her shoulders. Two beings settled into their single body. The force of their mutual compassion bound their existences into a single entity. Two pairs of eyes opened, taking in a fresh view of this night on the beach.

One set of eyes appraised the scene with razor-sharp focus and practiced logic. A lifetime of running and hiding had given her a strong set of priorities. The beach was open, but dark. Good visibility, both a curse and a blessing. The sand, likewise, had its own share of benefits and faults, its loose surface making combat more difficult for all involved. Luckily, a quick sprint into the ocean would be enough to slow most pursuers.

The other set of eyes saw something entirely different. There was so much worth looking at on this humble planet. There was the sea, teeming with life on both a microscopic and macroscopic level. There was the cliff face, where hardy mosses and grasses clung to the stone, stubbornly trying to eke out a simple existence. There was so much life on this planet, so much promise. It was all simple, all easy to understand, but at the same time, it was beautifully complex. Each living thing had its own life, its own genetic history.

Best of all, every life form was different. They each lived out their own unique existence. On this wild planet, their differences made them stronger, not weaker. No creature was expected to be the same as the one beside it. They were free, beautifully free.

Rainbow Quartz continued to stare at this wonderful world through her twin sets of eyes. After a few quiet, purposeless minutes, her thoughts began to wander. There was no goal to keep her united anymore. Slowly, gradually, her personalities diverged, and her united existence melted away.

When Rose came back to herself, her eyes were glassy with tears. "Pearl…" She swallowed the lump of sadness in her throat. Seeing the world through Pearl's eyes had taught her more than she had imagined possible. "How long were you on the run?"

Pearl winced, glancing away. "I don't know."

Rose knew her companion. Had she been able, Pearl would have kept track of the years. "How could you go on living like that?" Rose asked.

Pearl clutched her arms in front of her. She looked so small, so vulnerable. "I was too different. The farmers were going to destroy me. If I hadn't escaped, they…" A shudder wracked her body. "There were times when I thought I was safe, when I thought they'd stopped looking for me. Those times never lasted."

Before Pearl could so much as blink, Rose's loving arms completely enveloped her. Pearl shook, but Rose held her gently, anchoring her to the world. As Pearl's sobs grew more and more visceral, she stroked her back in soft, sweeping motions. Rose noticed a few tears of her own rolling down her cheeks, but they were nothing in comparison to Pearl's waterfall of pain. It was all Rose could do to put an end to her companion's anguish and give her a place where she could feel safe once more.

When the night was finally still again, Rose released her. Pearl wiped the remnants of tears from her face. "This…this planet," the younger gem said, voice still hoarse. "I think I finally see why you care for it so much. There's so much life here, and no one needs to be perfect, and…" She looked up into Rose's face. "It's special, isn't it?"

Rose nodded, glad that Pearl had finally seen the light. "Blue Diamond does not see it that way. To her, the only lives that matter are hers and the other Diamonds'. If I don't talk to her, there will be no one stopping this planet's extinction."

"I'm-" Pearl's words suddenly choked off. She glanced away in uncertainty.

Rose's eyes narrowed in concern. "Pearl? What is it?"

Pearl sighed. "I don't think Blue Diamond will listen to you. But..."After a moment, her mouth twisted upwards in a weak smile. Her eyes met Rose's once more. "I understand that you'll take any risk if it means protecting this planet. Whatever path you take, I'll be at your side. I swear it."

Rose returned the smile. Even though Pearl could be a little overprotective at times, Rose felt all the more grateful knowing that she wouldn't have to fight this battle alone. Luckily, neither of them had anything to worry about, at least in terms of their own personal safety. "She will listen to me. I'll make sure of it. Having a friendly conversation with Blue Diamond is hardly a risk, I assure you."

Pearl's smile faltered. "I…really hope that is the case." She crossed her arms and looked out towards the sea. "I've seen what gems of a high station will do to those below them. Taking complaints to superiors is very risky. You may be a Quartz, but you are no Diamond."

Rose gave Pearl a strange look. She wouldn't have put it past Pearl to say those kinds of things in the past, but the two of them had fused now. There were no secrets in fusion. Just as the experience had taught Rose about Pearl's long and arduous story, the same should have happened in reverse. Rose had quite a history, and most of it was very…unfortunate.

Then again, Pearl was predisposed to blind herself to reality, especially when Rose herself was involved. It was a little worrying and more than a little sad. Rose was not someone worth protecting this fervently. She shouldn't have been held in such high regard.

Rose wanted nothing more than to open Pearl's eyes to the truth. But, the two of them had fused minds for several minutes, and Pearl hadn't learned even the slightest inkling about Rose's history. Perhaps she simply wasn't ready to handle the truth yet. Pearl thought so highly of Rose Quartz, and she'd put so much hope into this idealized construct of courage, understanding, and love. How much would it break her to know the deceptive, cruel menace Rose Diamond had been?

Rose sighed. This was a problem she could manage later. Tonight, there was only one goal on her mind, and that was doing whatever it took to rescue this helpless blue dot of a planet.

Pearl would need to remain blind for just a little while longer. Rose reassured her with a warm smile. "Blue will listen to me. I'll find a way, don't you worry."

* * *

 _You thought this wouldn't be updating this again, didn't you?_

 _Rainbow Quartz has no dialogue. None at all. She doesn't have much of a discernible personality, either. How did I choose to compensate for such a nondescript character? Eye metaphors. At least I can finally utilize a couple of my headcanons now that they've been all but confirmed by some of the recent episodes. Of course, I'm not going to completely adhere to the usual fanon ideas, mind you. "Rose rescuing Pearl while she was on the run from the authorities" sounds a lot more compelling to me than most of the usual plots revolving around Pearl's backstory._

 _Next chapter is Sardonyx_.


End file.
